A variety of information processing systems have been developed as a result of the rapid development which has taken place in the information industry in recent years, and methods and apparatus for recording compatible with these information systems have been developed and put to practical use. The thermal transfer recording method which is one such recording method involves the use of light weight equipment which is compact and noise free, and has excellent operability and maintenance characteristics. Moreover, since the method enables colors to be used easily, it is being used in a wide range of applications. Thermal transfer recording methods can be broadly classified into two types, namely the thermofusible type and the thermomobile type. In the latter case, a thermal transfer dye donating material having a dye donating layer containing a binder and thermomobile dye on a support is laminated with a thermal transfer image receiving material. Heat is applied from the support side of the dye donating material, and the thermomobile dye is transferred in the form of a pattern corresponding to the heat pattern which has been applied to the recording medium (the thermal transfer image receiving material) to provide a transfer image. Here, the term "thermomobile dye" signifies a dye which is transferable from the thermal transfer dye donating material to the thermal transfer image receiving material by sublimation or by diffusion in a medium.
However, the images obtained using conventional thermal transfer image receiving materials have inadequate density and the image is susceptible to blurring on storage. There is a further disadvantage in that the image receiving layer is liable to peel away from the support, such that these materials are unsatisfactory as hard copy materials.